Fitch joins vaccine mandate challenge

The State of Mississippi has filed suit in the Western District of Louisiana along with 23 other states challenging a fourth vaccine mandate by the Biden Administration. This mandate, which was issued on Nov. 30, would require anyone who works or volunteers with Head Start to vaccinate and would require anyone over two years of age at a Head Start facility to wear a mask.

“It seems clear that the Administration’s plan is to scare enough people with the penalties of non-compliance that they vaccinate against their better judgment and before the courts strike all the mandates down,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “Court after court has hit the pause button against these unconstitutional mandates; yet the Administration has persisted and imposed a fourth mandate. President Biden was wrong with his first vaccine mandate, and he’s been wrong each time since.”

Head Start programs provide pre-school education for low-income families. The mandate would impact an estimated 273,000 staff, up to one million volunteers, and up to 865,000 preschool children.

As of today, two of the other three Biden vaccine mandates – on 17 million healthcare workers at Medicaid or Medicare facilities and on the one-fifth of the American workforce who work at companies with federal contracts or subcontracts – have been enjoined across Mississippi. The third mandate – on 84 million workers at companies with 100 or more employees – is currently pending before the Supreme Court of the United States on an emergency petition. Attorney General Fitch continues to work with her fellow Attorneys General to challenge these mandates in defense of Mississippians’ jobs and liberty.

The 24-state coalition filing suit included Attorneys General from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming, and West Virginia.